Rise of the Ice Dragons
by theonewhofights
Summary: Jack Frost is in for it. On top of getting used to people believing in him, having weird dreams about dragons, and being condemned to find himself a love, now he's got to go to a strange new island in the middle of a strange new ocean with strange new people living on it, and meet a strange new boy that seems to have a certain affinity with the creatures he's been dreaming about.
1. Guardian Instincts

**Hey, guys! Alrighty, so, here I am with my first fic, praying that it turns out as good as I'm hoping that it will be: I have a lot of hope for this story and it's plot. Basically (and I'm only vauge because I don't want to spoil the good chiz), this story is set around five years after the movie _Rise of the Guardians,_ while Jack is still getting used to being believed in and being a Guardian himself. He starts to get weird feelings about him, and they lead him to this strange island where he meets our other main character, Hiccup. I know that both movies are set in different time frames (RotG in modern times, and HttyD during the viking era, but meh), so I'll try to make that whole chunk of weirdness work out somehow. ALSO: this is NOT a Hijack story! They are just friends! (Although I ship it, I'm gonna toy around with the idea of them as close friends for awhile and see how it goes). And one other thing before you dive in: I do love reviews, especially reviews suggesting how to improve my story, but if I don't get them, I won't mind; I'll still update no matter what! (Cuz I love my characters and my readers, even if y'all don't review). **

**I think that's everything. Happy reading!**

Jack Frost couldn't cry.

He just couldn't. It was impossible, and he would know because he had tried everything he could think of; he tried sitting in front of a roaring fire ( which resulted in sweat instead of tears leaving tracks down his face and he himself almost passing out ), he watched sad movies ( which did nothing at all except reduce the popcorn in some poor old man's popcorn bowl by half its original size ), and, very very reluctantly, he cut his hand ( which led to his blood freezing and clotting and hurting and pretty much making a mess everywhere ).

His tears, the one time he did cry, didn't even make it halfway down his face before turning into snowflakes and drifting off of his cheeks and into the sky. They floated away sadly, depressingly, carrying all of winter's pain along with them.

Jack did not understand it, but he also didn't understand some other things, like why Guardians never needed to sleep, but they could if they wanted to. Or why adults never seemed to have as much fun as kids did in the snow.

And anyway, why would Jack feel the need to cry anymore? Things were better now that people actually believed in him and could see and hear him. Three hundred years alone took its toll on a spirit, especially one responsible for the coldest season of all, but Jack could handle everything better now that he knew his friends...no, his _family_ , were right behind him.

And even while thinking about this strange phenomenon of not being able to produce liquid through his eyes skidding along the back of his head, Jack had other things to worry about.

For instance, crafting snowflakes. Jack enjoyed doing this and found it very fun and entertaining, and liked to make no two snowflakes the exact same way, because he liked things to be different in winter time. He could twirl one of his pale fingers this way and that way and then _there_ , there was a beautiful piece of artwork Jack was satisfied with, and blew away gently with a soft caressing wind.

Or frosting ponds with thick sheets of ice to skate on. Jack, when he was doing this, had to make sure that the ice was super dense; though he wouldn't mind another immortal being with the same element as his to hang around with, he didn't want any children falling and dying like he had before he became Jack Frost. He loved to fly on the ice with the kids, drawing figure eights and butterflies and absolutely random lines and loops and circles. Whenever a child slipped or fell, Jack helped them up with a smile and encouraged them to try again and again until they got it and they could glide along the others.

And Jack had the business of running winter in general; the cold was everywhere and never stopped, so when he wasn't skating or making snowflakes or wasn't in the best mood that day, he let the winds carry him to where he needed to go and cooked up a small storm; or a big one. It all depended. He flew to large cities and covered them in a blanket of white, and zipped to the north and south poles to make sure that his friends the polar bears and the penguins and, Jack's personal favorite, _baby harp seals,_ were all ok and not about to drown in the ocean because he had neglected his duties and their iceberg had melted.

But these days, something was bothering Jack, sneaking up on him, irritating him like an itch under his skin. He just could not put his finger on it. Or on anything except his own hair ( lately he had gotten into the habit of tugging or pulling or running his hands through his hair whenever he was thinking deeply or was upset ).

He decided, against his better judgement, to go ask one of the Guardians about it.

They were older (in many senses) than he was: after all, they had been around in the Dark Ages, bringing early hope and joy to kids who, at the time, didn't have it. Jack shuddered to think about it...a dreary, dank world full of black sand, fearlings, and nightmares, Pitch Black hiding under your bed and laughing in the shadows and inducing fear. But once the Guardians came, everything got much better quicker than the Man in the Moon could have hoped for. Jack's shakes melted into a smile as he thought about Sandy creating golden dolphins out of his magic sand, Bunnymund hiding his beautifully decorated eggs, Tooth flitting around and leaving coins under pillows, and North, giving children gifts and candycanes and watching their faces light up in happiness.

Maybe it was that they shared a common season, maybe it was because he was the one to teach Jack about his center, maybe it was because Jack felt a special connection to this particular Guardian somehow.

Jack decided to go see Old Man Winter himself.

On one of his trips to the poles, he glided and then settled downn at the start of the long cave that contained North's workshop, and could barely steal two second to gain his bearings before a furry paw grabbed the back of his blue hoodie sharply, turning him around.

" Hey, Phil. " Jack greeted cheerily, looking up at the yeti.

Phil grunted.

After a lengthy explanation (that was mostly ignored) a lot of dragging and grunting, a frozen elf, and a few powerful icey blasts from his staff, Jack found himself standing in front of North's personal office, with a slender wrist raised to knock.

He paused to look around the workshop once, at all the toys and brightly-colored contraptions either soaring through the air, gliding on water, or speeding on a table. One little race car sped off of its track and was about to fall off a workbench and break. The hooked end of Jack's staff quickly shot out to catch it, and set it back on the table in the opposite direction.

...if it would even move. The windshield was covered in a beautiful pattern of light ice, and the wheels held hidden bits of snow.

So maybe Jack was a little bit more nervous about this than he had originally thought.

Jack bit his lip for a moment, seriously debating whether this was the right call or not, because North was North and North was unpredictable. But he was also wise and curious, an experienced Guardian who probably knew a lot more about these things than Jack did.

Jack knocked.

The door was thrown open before Jack could draw his hand back again, and for the first time in a long time Jack Frost looked up into the beard of one of his fellow Guardians.

North was big, and not big as in fat ( though he made random references to his belly every now and then ); he had burly muscles and a large frame sturdy enough to hold them. His red shirt sleeves were rolled up, and the edges of his _Naughty_ and _Nice_ tattoos could be seen peeking out from underneath the edges of the cotton.

North smiled widely and boomed, " Jack Frost! How nice it is to see you, my friend, come in, come in! "

Jack stepped inside North's office as the other Guardian closed the door behind him.

" So. " North prompted shortly as he gestured around the small but cozy room, at the miniature trains chugging in midair, at the happy teddy bears littering the place, at the giant Christmas tree set up in one corner with thousands upon thousands of twinkling lights shining brightly on it in ropes. " What can I do for you today, Jack? "

Smiling like the mischevious teen that he was, Jack said with mock-surprise, " What, I didn't get a special ceremony for walking in the door? No blaring trumpets, no balloons, no book that says I'm the most awesome Guardian ever? "

North sent him a look that was half-amused, half-irritated. Jack couldn't stay serious about anything, even if he tried; he always ended up turning it into a game and having fun instead. Perhaps that was why the spirit of winter was so carefree all the time. But this time, Santa Claus knew something fishy was going on: the bright light that usually sparked behind Jack's eyes was dimmed, and the cramped-looking bend of his neck seemed to carry a heavier weight than it usually did.

North walked across the room and sat down in his dark red cushy chair, snapping his fingers once sharply. Two little elves wobbled in their haste as they balanced a tray of cookies with a combination of their hands, heads, and noses to North. He grabbed one without glancing at it to make sure it was safe (you never knew with the elves; sometimes they ate part of a cookie and then spit it out, and then other times they would dig all of the chocolate chips from a cookie, lick them, and then put them back), and munched on it thoughtfully. " What is it, Jack? "

" I can't believe I'm doing this... " Jack muttered, before taking a deep breath.

" I'm getting...weird feelings. " He admitted, dropping his hand and clutching his long wooden staff tighter with his other. He trailed it along the floor idly, a small pattern of ice flakes leaving a trail wherever it touched. Jack's staff was like his safe haven; when Pitch had broken it in two, Jack felt something inside him break and snap in half. It was the most painful thing he had ever experienced. He later learned that it was the pain of a bond being torn, and Jack had fused it back together when he had fixed his staff.

North sat straight up and dropped his cookie. His eyes grew twice as wide as they normally were with a look of alarm and he rushed over to Jack faster than he would have rushed at a strawberry-and-peppermint pound cake. Grabbing Jack's shoulders, North shook him roughly.

" Is Pitch coming back? Are you having nightmares? Can people still see you? "

" No, maybe, and yes, in that order. " Jack blurted without thinking about it, so that North would stop shaking him like that.

" Oh. " North said shortly, and stopped with the jostling. Jack breathed a small sigh of relief through his nose as he readjusted his hoodie and rolled his shoulders a couple times to get the feeling back in them. " What is this weird feeling? "

" Well, sometimes, at rare moments, I get this trickle of warmth down my neck that seeps into my back. And sometimes my vision gets blurry and my eyes hurt. And other times this burst of wind that I didn't purposely call blasts my hair all around and sweeps down my neck. " Jack shifted as he paced back and forth, staff on his shoulders, eyes towards the ceiling. North listened quietly in his chair.

Jack noticed this and looked at North. Father Christmas was silent, and that couldn't possibly be good. " You're quiet. That must mean it's serious. What's... " Jack trailed off helplessly, and patterns of ice could be seen beginning to creep up the walls. The wooden ceiling was starting to become covered in a thin lining of snow, sleet filling up it's cracks. " What's happening to me? "

" Jack. " North said softly, folding his hands in front of him. The spirit of winter watched him with increasing worry and panic.

Jack didn't care about dying; dying in itself didn't scare him ( come on, he had already done it before, so he kind of knew what to expect ). What scared Jack was other people dying because he wasn't there to protect them or make sure that things that melted re-froze or that all of the winter animals died-

" You need a mate. "

Jack froze, as still as one of his ice sculptures. " I need a _what?_ "

" A mate. Someone who you love and loves you and will make you happy. " North sat back and regarded the three hundred year old teenager with his fingers laced together and his eyebrows set.

Jack unfroze to laugh at the idea of someone falling in love. With _him!_ " Listen, North, I can't fall in love. I'm...immortal, I'm the freaking spirit of winter. All cold and icey and stuff, remember? " To prove his point, Jack absentmindedly beckoned with one of his fingers, and a small, strong flare of freezing wind came to his call.

" But there is someone! " North insisted, jumping up and coming down with a heavy thud. Jack almost jumped back in surprise: this was the most energentic Jack had ever seen North besides the time that he, Jack, and Bunnymund had raced to see who could collect the most teeth in one night. " These feelings of strangeness? Those are your heart- " North pressed a finger over Jack's cold blue hoodie. " -and your instincts- " North layed two fingers against Jack's temples. " -telling you that there is a love out there somewhere. "

This was one of those times where Jack wished he could cry. There was no one out there, no one, would could love him and he knew it, he knew it in his mind without his heart or his instincts to help. Sorrow stalked him relentlessly, cursing him to a loveless eternity; sure, Jack had the love of his friends and the children, and that was more than he could ever ask for, but someone else, someone different, loving him?

" Nope. That's not going to happen. " Jack could feel the hairs on the back of his neck rising. He shook it off. " I'm not going to go and-and get married or some craziness like that- " His breaths were coming in faster, and he didn't know why. His chest heaved under invisible pressure. " -I've been alone all this time, why now, when I have things to do- " It was beginning to snow in the room, despite the fireplace burning steadily in the corner. Ice was shooting from the ceiling, and North's desk was covered in slippery frost. " -and...and... "

North nodded, and grabbed Jack by the scruff of his hoodie ( he really was going to have to do something about that ) and led him towards the window.

" What are you doing? " Snow and ice magic were spewing from Jack's staff, and he knew his own body tempurature was dropping rapidly.

" Your instincts are struggling against your being. Your Guardian instincts. You need to get out of here and go find your mate before you hurt yourself or turn this place into one giant chunk of frost. " North opened the window, where outside the wind screamed violently and white was everywhere. " Go, Jack. GO! "

And North threw him out the window.


	2. The Pillars

**Ok, so, I was super-de-duper excited about this story, and I kinda got carried away and wrote a whole other chapter for you guys as fast as I could. Yay, early update! I won't be updating as frequently as this, though; for right now, my updating is at random, but I promise that I won't leave you guys hanging later than a week. And all of my chapters will be at least 2,500 words (I love long chapters in stories and not the short quick stuff I sometimes read, so I've decided that 2,500 is my minimum chapter word count throughout this story), so a little on the lengthy side. Also, thank you guys for your reviews, I loved reading them! (to one of the guests that reviewed; thanks for spotting those quotation mark spaces! I stayed up late last night getting this thing published, and I was definetly rushing it. I was eager!) I'm thinking that my next update will be Tuesday, and hopefully by then I'll also have some story cover art.**

 **One last thing; in this story, Hiccup is seventeen, which means he's older than he was in _How to Train Your Dragon,_ but the events of _How to Train Your Dragon 2_ haven't happened yet! Jack is eighteen.**

 **That's all until Tuesday. Cya later, my readers!**

* * *

Jack hoped that it wasn't going to get any warmer. Or wetter.

His body, always sensitive to temperatures above sub-zero, was beginning to tingle uncomfortably as he sped across the ocean, sea spray getting in his eyes. Blinking like a mad person, Jack used his left hand to wipe his face and eyes free of the water before the droplets froze on his skin and made him look like a disco ball vomited on him.

Cursing lightly, Jack did a quick spin in midair to try and shake his hoodie dry, to no avail. The blue fabric was already soaked. He would have to leave it out in the sun if he wanted to dry it. If he wore it while it was still wet, it would make him feel all icky and gross (not to mention stiff; if the water didn't evaporate quickly enough, his natural powers would freeze the hoodie solid. He'd be a Jack-sized popsickle).

The only reason he was flying this close to a huge body of water was that if he went any higher, he'd be blind. The farther away he traveled from North's office, the closer he got to his destination, the more he trusted the feeling in his gut that was dragging him out here in the first place, the heavier and thicker the already super-dense fog seemed to get. So he was stuck gliding over water that was way too warm, with clothes that were getting soaked, and with zero clue as to where he was going.

That was the part that was seriously bothering Jack; he had to follow the tugging in his center that was leading him to Man in the Moon-knew-where, and he had absolutely _no say_ in this siduation whatsoever.

Well, he guessed he did hold some solid grounding; he could turn around and ignore these strange feelings and go back to normal. He _could_.

But he didn't want to. North would be upset with him, he would never find out where he was going or what the feelings even ment, and he would risk the Man in the Moon either coming after him or being greatly disappointed in him.

And maybe he was a little curious. Just a little.

The wind picked up for the tenth time in the past hour. It seemed to egg him on in his adventure for love (or a mate or whatever: Jack wasn't exactly thrilled about that particular bit of this whole shebang), it seemed to cheer for him. Jack felt the slight increase in speed, and he couldn't help himself. He laughed once and twirled in the air a few times, feeding off of the wind's giddiness. If he had bothered to look, trailing behind him were a couple hundred snowflakes, born of his irritation, uncertainty, and happiness.

Still grinning, Jack finished his dance with the wind by pulling off a quick loop-de-loop that went so low his toes skimmed the ocean's surface. The portion of water his skin touched froze solid seconds after he had been there.

Chuckling, he looked up.

"WHOA!" Jack yelled, and dove out of the way at just the right moment. Startled by his sudden change in direction, the wind grew panicked. It howled once, and then threw Jack around and around and around until the winter spirit had gathered enough of his wits and could calm it down and ask it politely to stop. The wind, realizing it's friend was alright, settled slowly. As an apology, it whistled a few sweet, invisible notes through Jack's ears.

Shaking his head to rid himself of lingering dizziness, Jack set himself the task of finding out what he had almost smashed his face into.

It was a pillar, he found out after backtracking and circling the object twice. A pillar of stone.

 _What's it doing in the middle of the ocean?_ Jack wondered, drifting closer to examine it and swatting at the fog for second so he could get a clear view.

The hard, grey rock was mostly plain and untouched, only cracked in some areas from the sea repeatedly battering it with harsh waves. Jack tapped the end of his staff against it's rough surface, willing a small thread of ice to come forward. The ice magic obeyed his will (as it always did; after all, Jack was the bringer of blizzards. The cold loved him), and a snake of white ice spewed from his staff and curled onto the pillar. The air made a steady _hisssss_ sound as warm collided with cool, but even though the muggy weather was starting to get to him, Jack was still much, much stronger than a slightly heated piece of uneven rock.

Jack was beginning to get bored. He would still study the rock, but only for a minute more. Not wanting to waste the precious sixty second his patience would allow, Jack seriously dedicated himself to searching, trying to fight the urge to just _leave_. He lifted himself a little higher, waving away more fog.

A giant mark in the stone he hadn't noticed before grabbed his attention, and he stared at it hard. It looked almost like...an arrow. It pointed in the general direction that Jack had been going in, just more to the left.

Furrowing his eyebrows, Jack departed from his poisition from in front of the rock, following the path the arrow pointed at. Soon, he came across another pillar, also made of rock, that was pointing to the right.

For the next fifteen minutes, Jack obeyed the commands of the arrows and the directions they whispered at him, until he pulled up to the biggest pillar he had seen so far. Not only was the size different from all of the others, but this one had strange writing all over it in a language Jack couldn't read. This struck him as odd, because Jack knew how to write, speak, and read quite a few languages (at this current moment, he knew English, French, German, Swedish, and Italian fluently; now he decided he was going to try Spanish).

Jack squinted, trying his best to read it, but he finally gave up after his vision became fuzzy. His eyes had also throbbed once or twice, but he knew where _that_ was coming from: they were his ' _Guardian instincts_ '.

Suddenly, Jack felt a sharp, quick pain in his stomach, and his center began to tug at him again, more insistent than ever. The wind, content and lazy until now, lurched the white-haired boy in the same direction as the tugging in a sudden spiral. Jack had no choice but to flow with the wind, the sound of his alarmed " _Shit!_ " staying in the area where he was not a moment ago. The sound faded after another of the moments that Jack's Guardian instincts liked to steal had passed.

Meanwhile, Jack Frost was spinning faster than he ever had, his hair flying out of his face with how fast he was going. He gripped his staff to make sure he didn't drop it (that was probably one of Jack's worst nightmares), and saw up ahead that the thick mist hanging in the air like a dark curtain was lifting.

Jack smiled, and burst into the light.

Jack had to balk his speedy torrent of wind for a split-second so that he could let his eyes ajust. Everything was so _different_ out here; the water wasn't murky and dirty-looking, it was a crystal-clear blue that sparkled. The sky shooed away the looming clouds and opened up, an even lighter aqua color than the new sea. Jack looked past the sky and water, to see a rock-based island up ahead. He flew closer.

Squinting, Jack could see that the giant rock island was littered with colorful houses. They looked cramped and squashed together, but in a neat, organized sort of way; as if someone had come along and stepped on the wooden foundations, and then changed their minds and tried to put the little individual pieces back together again.

 _Kind of like a child with glue._ The thought flitted through the winter spirit's mind for the briefest of moments; he shoved it in the back of his brain as he took in the rest of the sights to see.

There were flowers and bright green grasses growing here and there, but they looked like they were beginning to wilt. Jack used his seasonal guesstimator and supposed that wintertime was approaching soon.

"Guess I got here just in time." Jack murmured to himself, before the tingling started.

The wind grew sharper for an instant, and then leveled out. Jack stiffened, tearing his eyes from the pretty island and letting his senses range out. The air felt almost charged...electrically charged.

Then it happened again, stronger this time. Jack held his staff out in front of him, swiveling his head and moving in time with the wind, attepting to shake off his shivers. He had a niggling that something important was coming, something big and strange was about to happen.

Jack almost burst out in hysterical giggles when he thought that; this was coming from a person who's died, was currently at the fresh, ripe young age of three hundred and five, and was being dragged across an ocean to find a mate that's supposed to love him.

Jack was the definition of strange.

"TOOTHLESS, NO!" Jack heard a male voice scream out of nowhere. Turning, all Jack had time to compute was that this thing was big, fast, and it was _coming right at him_ -

Jack dropped like a weight, and the thing flew right over his head, so close that he felt it brush the highest hair on his head. Spinning around, he finally got a good look at it as it U-turned to whip by him once more.

 _That's a...that's a..._

"Bad Night Fury! " The boy was scolding the dragon as it came around and slowed the flapping of it's wings so it could hover by Jack. "I'm sorry, he's usually not so riled up, I don't know what's gotten into him-" He glanced at Jack, and Jack noticed three things at once; the figure of his nightmares (the dragon, not the boy, who was currently staring at him) _was not_ going to rip his face off, the dragon had a saddle strapped to it's back, and both the boy and the dragon had really big soulful green eyes.

"Are you... _floating?_ " Green-Eyes asked incrediously as the dragon turned so he could get a better look at the flying wonder.

"Are _you_ riding a _dragon?_ " Jack shot right back, gesturing to the weirdness in front of him.

"Well, yeah, but that's sort of normal around these parts." The boy answered with a quick flash of his eyes in the direction of the island. Jack almost couldn't see the action; the boy's eyes were attempting to hide in the confines of his light brown hair. "Now, flying _without_ a dragon to help...that's more on the abnormal side."

The Night Fury leaned it's face forwards, sniffing in Jack's direction. It cocked it's head to the side, and widened it's big eyes. Jack thought it was kind of cute, but he shook it off as the boy spoke again.

"This is Toothless." He said proudly. Toothless yipped and flapped his wings with more enthusiasim. "My name is Hiccup."

Now, Jack could usually refrain from laughing at a person's name (he had once met a delightful little girl named Liquesha Von Glockenvinle Hoolkinbine Shazzvaanlo), but _Hiccup?_ Jack started laughing, but once he got started he couldn't stop, and before he knew it he was doubled over clutching his stomach at this poor kid's name.

"Hilarious. Laugh it up." Hiccup said tiredly, sending Jack a bored look.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Jack relented, but he was still grinning when he expertly twirled his staff with his fingers and rested it on his shoulder. "I'm Jack Frost."

"Jack Frost? You mean, from the legends?" Hiccup asked curiously. He bit his lip, and then said tentatively, "Can you prove it?"

Jack gave him a shcoked look, and then did a cartwheel in midair. Toothless tried to copy him, but ended up making himself dizzy and swaying in the air for a moment.

"Kid, I'm pratically levitating _._ Isn't that proof enough?"

Hiccup considered him for a second. "You could be a warlock with dark magic for all I know."

Jack snorted, an image of Pitch with a long grey beard popping into his head. "Trust me, Hiccup, there's a guy like that out there, but I'm not him."

But nonetheless, Jack wanted to prove himself to this boy. Trying the best that he could with how warm the weather was, he concentrated and made marks in the air with his staff. Hiccup and Toothless watched quietly as Jack produced a splitting image of the island they could see a few miles away. Jack leaned in and literally breathed life into it. Hiccup could see Toothless flying around, and noticed that all the tiny people in the village were walking down the streets and laughing and taking their dragons for rides-

As soon as Jack had created it, the three-dimentional island faded away into nothingness. Hiccup, disappointed, looked at Jack with and almost sad expression on his face and the soft question of, "Where did it go?"

Jack waved a hand in the air aimlessly. "Into the atmosphere. They can't stay long in the heat."

Hiccup smiled. "I know a place where you can make more. Mind if I showed you around Berk?"

Jack pointed. "The island?"

Nodding, Hiccup turned Toothless in the direction of their new destination. "Let's go!"

And as Jack followed his new friend over the ocean, he felt the pain in his center dull and fade.

But, the tugging was still there. It had moved from tugging at Jack's chest to pulling at his heart.


	3. Frozen Fish

**I can't resist, so I've changed my mind; this WILL be a Hijack story, but only very very light slash. SO, for all of you guy out there who ship them (plus me, I think they're awesome together!), you're in luck! I'm only going for sweet fluffiness, not pure slash! (But no hints about who Jack's possible mate is, fandom; I have a few surprises up my sleeves!) For all of you out there who hate slash...I'm not going far when I describe their relationship, and the slash is really light (Though it will indeed be there along with FLUFF), so it's not too horrid. I was just writing this and thinking and I was like, "Forget this, I ship them and they would be great in this story." Thank you guys for your reviews, favorites, and follows, they mean a lot to me! **

**Also: currently, this story is written in Jack's 3rd person POV. Would you guys want a chapter in Hiccup's 3rd person POV, or should I stick with Jack?**

* * *

"So!" Jack shouted over the wind, gesturing at Hiccup and Toothless as they soared towards the island. "How did you two meet? Birthday party, death of a goldfish, Facebook?"

Hiccup gave Jack a weird look. "What's Facebook?"

"Y'know, where you go on the computer and talk to your friends?" Jack explained as he dodged a rough pocket of air. "Play games and stuff?"

Toothless dove underneath Jack with a neat spiral, Hiccup bowed low over his dragon. When they came up next to Jack, Hiccup's eyebrows (now visible because his hair was being blown out of his eyes) were arched in a confused manner.

"I've never heard of that before. Sounds fun, though." Hiccup said. Toothless made a noise of approval, and Hiccup smiled. But his grin faded quickly. "Kind of an interesting story, see...but, um, I met Toothless in a valley right after I had shot him down."

"Shot him down?" Jack's eyes flashed repeatedly from Toothless back to Hiccup. Jack had only known the pair for a short while, and already he could see how attached they were to each other.

Hiccup's shrug was lost to the wind. "Yeah. I wanted to be a dragon hunter. Maybe make my dad proud."

"What kind of job application do you fill out to become a _dragon hunter_?" Hiccup's dad must've been pretty hard-core if he had wanted his son to grow up and hunt dragons as his job.

Hiccup rolled his eyes, their bright green color bending in the sun. "You don't. You had to prove yourself to the clan. Then you could gain, you know, fame and stuff."

"What's the clan?" Jack asked, curious. He soared forwards faster, and Toothless sped up to match his pace.

"We're Vikings." Hiccup said indifferently, patting Toothless's head. That explained the weird clothes. "Fighting dragons is what we used to do before I met Toothless; all the houses were always new, because the dragons constantly burned them down. They were vicious things, back then. But we learned to get along, and here we are now, best buds."

Hiccup tapped his Night Fury once in the center of his forehead, and Toothless began to dive. The wind, now used to Jack not paying attention, urged him on until he was flying right behind the two friends. Jack allowed the wind to push him close to Toothless, so close he could have frozen his tail if he had wanted.

Unfortunatly, he was too busy swerving to avoid people as they dropped their weapons and precious goods in surprise as they felt a sudden, sharp blast of icey air greet them. Little did Jack know, the adults couldn't see him; the small children that accompanied the grown-ups, however, gasped in surprise as they watched a thin, white-haired boy wave to them happily, flying behind the clan leader's son. The kids then got to see an excited wind sweep a few snowflakes in the Guardian's wake, each one specially designed for each child who had seen him.

"Jack!" Hiccup yelled from his constantly moving position. Toothless glanced back at his rider to make sure he wasn't going to fall off as he called to the menace following them. "What are you _doing!?_ "

The spirit of winter was currently bouncing from wooden rooftop to wooden rooftop gleefully causing trouble. He spun gracefully out of the way as one scarlet dragon lit itself on fire after it saw Jack covering it's owner's flowers with a light sheen of ice. Laughing, Jack blew open a sheep pen so that the animals could run amuck for a little while. He watched with great amusement as a very grumpy, very disgruntled-looking man (covered in fur despite the late, unusual heat; Jack would have to change that) ran out of his cottage and began chasing the tiny mammals all over the place.

"JACK! C'mon!" Hiccup yelled. Jack turned his head at the sound, nodded, and for one last bit of fun, begged the wind to _pretty pretty please_ knock over the basket of apples that was currently sitting at the foot of an adult who was scolding some kids for playing. The wind did as nicely asked, and soon apples were rolling all about the place in shiny red heaps.

Satisfied with his work, Jack left the crazy scene, leaving nothing but a single blade of grass covered in frost.

* * *

Jack found Hiccup's foot facinating.

It was all metal, for starters, beginning a few inches above his ankle and then ending where his toes should be. On it's smooth sides, pretty patterns of bright gold were etched with great care, the loops swirling in this direction or that before a final neat curve brought the work of art to a standstill. The whole thing had an outline of bronze that trailed behind the gold, flowering out in some parts to make the whole piece more interesting. It looked like the boy was walking on a silver jewel when his foot caught the orange bends of sunlight.

"...I just hook it in this latch here-" The green-eyed wonder was saying, pointing to an empty slot in the leather workings of his dragon's saddle. "-and twist my foot in the position it needs to be in so that Toothless can use that part of his wing." Hiccup then gestured to the end of the Night Fury's dark body; if Jack looked closely, he could see that part of it was seemingly re-attached, half of it a natural scaly black, the other half a deep brown that was connected to three circles that captured the end of the tail.

"You guys are kind of like twins." Jack realized, jumping up on his staff so he could perch on it. Cupping his hands, he blew around himself in a messy oval; an instant later, the once jade grass was stark white. The bringer of winter embraced the cold. There wasn't enough of it on this island, and Jack knew that soon he would have to change that if he wanted to stay here for much longer. It was just too _hot_.

Hiccup nodded and shyly scratched his head. "I guess you're right." He stopped to think for a second, and then shook his head. "Alright, boy, time for dinner."

As Jack thought about dragons eating, he was immidiently reminded of the nightmares he had been having; where dragons of bright blue came and chomped up mortals like they were as hard to chew as marshmallows, with thick scales and big teeth and massive wings that could-

"What do dragons eat?" The Guardian asked abruptly, trying to shake off his mindset. Thinking about his dreams was going to freak him out.

"You'll see. Be right back." Hiccup said, and then bounded behind his house.

 _Leaving Jack alone with the dragon._

Jack tried desperately to think about something else as he pulled his hood up over his eyes in an effort to get colder, but it was no use; he could practically _feel_ Toothless's gaze boring into him.

It started to snow in the spot Jack was on, as it always did when he was nervous. Most of the flakes melted before they touched the ground, but a few stubborn ones held out until the end. One landed on Jack's nose, and he gently blew it in the direction of Toothless, an idea coming to mind.

The Night Fury watch curiously as the snowflake, now emitting a light blue glow, came floating in his direction. Suspicious, Toothless dodged it as it attempted to land in the center of his eyes, pawing at it a little. He cocked his head to the side, and then in a burst of bravery Jack didn't think that the dragon possessed, licked it.

Jack saw his magic spark behind the reptile's wide emerald eyes, and smiled.

When Hiccup finally came back two minutes later, Jack had unconsiously turned his once-luscious, full-of-plants, healthy-for-the-lateness-of-the-year front yard into a miniature frozen landscape. Toothless was romping around the place happily, snarling playfully and throwing snowballs at Jack with his tail. The Guardian, an expert at snowball fights, quickly dodged and retaliated with a few enchanted mounds of snow he aimed at the dragon.

Toothless swerved out of the way at just the right moment, the snow instead hitting the trunk of a tree. Using the wind to help him, Jack swiftly built a wall of snow seven feet high to hide behind. The dragon got a sly look on his face.

A steady, charging _hummm_ sound filled the air, and a second later there was a large _BOOM!_

Jack had an expression of pure disbelief on his face as he examined the giant hole in his fort. The edges of it steamed and crackled. Jack could only guess that the dragon had spit fire from it's mouth so it could break through and get to the winter spirit.

" _Toothless_! That was too dangerous, you could have hit Jack!" Hiccup could be heard yelling. Jack Frost's snowflake-patterned eyes peeked up from behind the remains of his wall, glittering like freshly fallen snow. They narrowed in concentration, and with a sudden snap of a wrist, Hiccup gasped as he was hit square in the chest with a cold, wet substance that was staining his furry vest.

"Lighten up, Hic, he was just having a little fun. I'm fine, see?" Jack pirouetted in midair, showing that he was unharmed. Jack was feeling much better, now that he had some of his element nearby, rather than while he was standing in the heat, anyway. He easily landed next to the boy who was clutching a basket of...

Jack sniffed, and then poked the basket with his staff. Ice began to creep around the lid as the Guardian inquired, "Why does it smell funny?"

Brushing his soaked shirt, Hiccup replied shortly with a raised eyebrow, "Fish."

He set the basket down and kicked it over so that the fish spilled out on the ground. They froze almost instantly due to the coldness of the earth and air, but Toothless didn't seem to mind; he yipped once, sniffed at the fish, prodded them with his nose, and then gobbled a few of them up right away.

"Dragons eat fish?" Jack asked, masking his shock that they didn't eat humans.

Hiccup nodded. "And they hate eel. It's...an aquired taste, eel is. I'm not a huge fan of it myself." He sent Jack a small, soft smile.

Jack returned it, not realizing that his grin shimmered with the beauty of winter. Hiccup blinked, blushed, and looked down at his feet.

Jack tore his eyes away from Hiccup's pink face when he heard Toothless making weird hacking noises. The dragon's throat was moving rapidly, and he was _hhck, HHHHckkk, HHHHLAH-_

 _Splat!_ The head of a fish, shiny with dragon drool, landed at Jack's feet. He took a step back in surprise, sending Hiccup an alarmed glance, unsure as to why Toothless had just regurgitated half of a fish.

Hiccup bit his lip to stifle his giggle. "He wants you to eat it."

Jack gaped at Hiccup, pointing from himself to the fish on the ground to Toothless. Hiccup shrugged his shoulders. "It's his way of telling you he's willing to trust you. You just have to...you know. If it makes you feel any better, I had to eat it."

Bunny would poke fun at him for a century if he ever found out, Jack knew. But as he looked from the practiced boy next to him, and the eager dragon in front of him, he also knew that if he wanted to make friends, Jack had to eat the fish.

So Jack ate the fish.

It was a surprisingly quick process; that was partly due to the fact that Jack had to have this over with as soon as possible, and partly due to the fact that Toothless would growl a little every time Jack looked like he was going to slow down. The Guardian didn't want to have an enemy that was a dragon.

It tasted like Bunnymund's shit, but Jack finally finished it and held a thumbs-up.

Toothless's mouth pulled back into what looked like a good attempt at a smile, and bounded forward to lick Jack's face. The winter spirit tasted like peppermint.

Suddenly, Hiccup burst out laughing. Jack glared at him. "What? I ate it, didn't I?"

Hiccup wrapped his arms around his stomach, still giggling. "Yeah, but you didn't have to eat ALL of it, only one bite!"

Jack's eyes widened almost comically as realization dawned on him. He had had no idea that such an innocent-looking kid could be so devilish. Slightly irritated and seeking some revenge, he flicked his staff and the wind came to his call, lifting him and Hiccup into the air.

"Ahhhh!" The boy screamed, flailing around like a chicken. Jack would have chuckled at the sight, but right now, he needed to be focused.

With another beckon, the wind left Hiccup, and he started falling rapidly, shreiking all the way. Jack shook his head at his melodramatic antics, and dove after him smoothly. Reaching out with the hook of his staff, Jack caught Hiccup by a hole in his wool vest (that was still drenched with wetness from Jack's snowball) and carefully dangled him.

Smiling mischievously, Jack exclaimed with delight, "Oooh, look! I caught a Hiccup!"

Hiccup grumbled and cursed. "Very funny. Now put me down."

"Mmmmmm..." Jack hummed. "I don't think so..." He was having so much fun, it was almost criminal.

" _Jack_ -"

"Promise never to make me eat a fish head that's been thrown up by a dragon and covered in its spit?"

Hiccup let out another giggle, and then said, "Promise."

Jack yanked his staff upwards, throwing Hiccup up in the air, and asked the wind to _pretty pretty please_ not let the boy hit the ground too hard, if it would be so kind. The wind sang it's laughs through Jack's ears, and swept Hiccup down to the ground and helped him land semi-safely.

Hiccup stumbled once, and then caught himself before he fell. Jack came down next to him gracefully.

The wind blew between them, and then dissapated. It wouldn't contribute to the freezing temperature of the atmosphere any longer.

Nonetheless, Jack watched as Hiccup shivered. Though Jack's homemade landscape was beginning to melt, it was still cold where they were standing, and the temperature was getting to Hiccup. Not to mention that the sun was setting, they had been outside for so long.

Grimacing for some reason, Hiccup called to his dragon (who was currently having the time of it's life rolling around in the snow and making dragon angels) to "turn in for the night, it's late."

Jack furrowed his eyebrows as Hiccup shrugged off his cold, stiff, wet vest and slung it across Toothless's back. He was limping. Jack looked at his metal foot to see the part that attached to his skin was covered in a sheen of frost particles.

"Hiccup, are you alright?" Jack asked tentatively, wanting to come closer and help him, but afraid to because he radiated cold.

Hiccup sent him a smile and waved off his concerns. "I'm fine, Jack, it just hurts a little in cooler weather. I'll be okay." He could see the worry growing on the Guardian's thin pale face, and tried to distinguish it as quickly as he could.

Jack shook his head, ran over to Hiccup, and scooped him up. He weighed less than nothing. "C'mon, let's get you inside where it's warmer, Hic."

After Hiccup slurped some soup, flicked his spoon at Jack, and brought Toothless to his nest, he was running up the stairs and sitting on his bed, a roaring fire burning in the fireplace. Jack settled against the windowsill, watching the boy and saying goodnight when the time called. He didn't want to get too close; Hiccup was still limping a little, and already the wood planks that Jack was sitting on were turning colder and colder with each passing second.

The spirit of winter was uneasy. He thought he should use his Guardian powers and stay awake all night to protect Hiccup from...Jack didn't know, nightmares? But Hiccup was closing his eyes, exausted from his day, and Jack decided that he and Hiccup had earned some rest.

"Jack?" Hiccup's voice called quietly. "Will you be here in the morning?"

Jack pondered for a moment, then said, "I'll be here, Hiccup." He was glad he could say that, and was glad he had discovered this island. Maybe he owed his instincts more than he thought. Jack traced the lines of his staff one more time for comfort, wishing for no bad dreams.

Jack curled up on the wood, and lost himself to sleep.


	4. Dragon Nightmares

**Hey, guys! So, this chapter is a little shorter than usual, but I promise my next update will be much, much longer (I'm thinking 4,500 words, as a mini celebration for reaching the fifth chapter). A small amount of fluffy Hijack in here, but there will be lots of Hijack in the next chapter! I'm planning on my next update being Monday, so sit tight, my readers! Once again, thank you for all of your reviews, favs, and follows!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

 _Jack was alone._

 _He stood in the center of a large cave, it's walls blue and shimmering and cold, which defined Jack better than anything ever could. Snow that the Guardian hadn't summoned fell steadily here, which was strange because there was no sky. But Jack Frost didn't care. He laughed and swirled around, admiring the prettiness of the unique snowflakes as they ruffled his hair, danced with each other in front of his eyes, and giggled along with him._

 _Jack didn't notice he wasn't holding his staff, but again, he didn't care. Why would he need his staff here? They were just a couple of harmless snowflakes. They couldn't hurt him._

 _The snowflakes began to get larger, and drew closer to the winter spirit's cold body. Jack felt multiple light, cool pressures on his back; they gently pushed him in the direction of what Jack assumed was further into the cave. Willingly, Jack allowed them to push him as he walked forwards. He had a tingling feeling on the back of his neck, a sort of prickling, but never that feeling mind. Jack would be fine._

 _Jack's eyesight fazed in and out a couple times, the edges of his vision a fuzzy white blanket as the snowflakes guided him deeper and deeper underground. He didn't notice when the snowflakes pushed him faster or with more ugency, didn't notice when they began to glow a slight red hue. After what seemed like two days or two seconds or two minutes (the winter Guardian wasn't entirely sure at this point), the snowflakes gave one final shove into a small, closed-off cavern, Jack stumbling for the first time in a long time. He turned with his eyebrows furrowed, opening his mouth to ask a question._

 _The words were lost when he realized that the snowflakes had grown and expanded until they covered the entrance of the cavern more efficiently than a boulder would have. Jack knocked on the strangely solid surface with his fist. It made a hollow ringing sound, but did not budge one bit. Jack was trapped in here._

 _That prospect would not have bothered him so much, had he not noticed the dragon._

 _A bright blue color, with scales that resembled a mixture of glass and ice, the dragon (Jack had the niggling that it was called an Iceanundra) stared at him with eyes that had grey pupils and white iris's. It was a long, slick-looking, thin but muscular thing, with massive silverish wings that looked like they could crush a glacier._

 _...or a certian Jack Frost, for that matter._

 _Glaring at him in a steely way, the Iceanundra put a claw forward, and began to growl and hiss threateningly._

 _Terror welled up in Jack's chest; he felt like running, but there was nowhere to go. He wished desperately for his staff, or any kind of weapon for that matter. He guessed he could create a sharp piece of ice, but he had no time to try._

 _The temperature in the cave was beginning to rise, in turn also beginning to weaken Jack. It was getting hotter and hotter and hotter, and Jack knew that he wasn't going to be alive in the next few moments if he didn't act fast._

 _Panic shooed away the horror, and Jack spun around and began to pound at the solidified snow holding him in this cage with all of his strength. He was screaming screaming screaming at the top of his lungs, but he knew nobody could hear him._

 _Let him out let him out let him out please let him out not like this don't let him die like this no no no no no no he was going to melt away like one of his snowmen he was going to fade like one of his snowflakes he was going to die die die all over again and this time he wasn't going to come back and no one would save him because no one loved him and no one ever ever ever would-_

 _Jack looked back at the ice dragon, eyes wide and petrified, hair sweating and sticking to his forehead, his mind locked on the fact that this was the end._

 _The Iceanundra lunged._

* * *

Jack woke up suddenly from his nightmare, gasping in more breath for another scream.

He realized (after his eyelids fluttered open fully and he recognized where he was) three things immidently; that Hiccup was kneeling down on the floor next to him, a concerned expression on his face, that another one of his hellatious, crazy dreams was over, and that he was way, WAY too hot.

The Guardian, lying in a heap on the floor, moaned at the throbbing pain in his head. The next second, he wanted to take the action back: it made his throat hurt like a motherfucker.

"Jack?" Hiccup's tone echoed in Jack's mind over and over, bouncing around in his head and amplifing each time it did so. Jack vaugely felt someone's cool hands (now, that was seriously alarming: everyone was warm to Jack's cold skin. If someone else was cooler than he was, something was very, very wrong) tilt his head lightly. "Jack, can you hear me? Where does it hurt?"

"Everywhere." The spirit of winter whispered. It was true. Every single cell in Jack's body ached and scorched with burning heat.

Jack let out a whimper. He wanted to be _cold_ again. Looking down, he noticed that the patterns of ice adorning his hoodie had melted. "My hoodie..." He managed to get out, and then hacked forcefully. His coughs shook his weak body violently.

Hiccup laid two fingers on his forehead and frowned deeply, not liking the purple blush painted across Jack's pale, high cheekbones. "I think that you're sick. Can Guardians even get sick?"

Fighting the dizziness that was constantly threatening to overtake him, Jack thought about that for a moment. As far as he knew, the only time a Guardian fell ill or lost some of their power was when they weren't believed in. Jack had survived not being believed in because, at the time, he hadn't been a Guardian and Pitch hadn't gone all psychotic-ass on them yet.

So what was making Jack feel like he was going to vomit?

Jack tried to calm his overheated body down enough to think properly, but he just couldn't. Every time he attempted to regain some control over his powers, they slipped through his fingers like soap or lurched and wobbled inside of him, unsteady and unable to be weilded. If he could take a cold shower or something, he'd feel a little better...did the sun have to shine on him so forcefully...but again, it was late spring, so Jack shouldn't be surprised...

And then it clicked.

The weather. The weather the weather the weather. That was what was making him weak! It was too hot outside; this climate was too warm for him. He had felt it like a weight on his back when he had flown through the village yesterday, but he hadn't fully come to terms with it because he had been fine later on, but that was only because he had created his own miniature winter landscape to play with Toothless in.

Jack slowly lifted his feverish hand, trying to block the warm sunlight. "Hic..."

"I'm here, Jack." Hiccup said softly, leaning down next to him so he wouldn't have to talk as loudly.

"It's...too hot...for me...here..." The winter spirit whispered through the knives raking his throat each time he moved his vocal cords or swallowed or used it like a damn normal person. "I...need cold...to...feel better...or...I...have to...go..."

The Guardian could tell by the way the green-eyed boy bit his pink lips that he didn't want Jack to leave. But a few more hours of this heat, he wouldn't have a choice.

"Maybe I should get a bucket of ice water or something." Hiccup debated, watching as Jack nodded. Thinking fast, Hiccup half-picked up, half-dragged the frail immortal being until he was sitting up against the windowsill, one leg dangled outside. There was a light, cool breeze, and Hiccup thought that it might help.

"I'll be right back, mmmkay?"

Jack sent Hiccup a small, grateful smile (that he didn't know carried the effect of hot chocolate; warm and shocking to a cold system. In Hiccup's case, it made him sort of melt a little), and sent him the most assuring look that he could when his white hair was sticking to his forehead in sweaty heaps. Hiccup left.

In the short time he was gone, Jack drifted in and out of pain and consiousness. His head hadn't lessened in its throbbing, and it only got worse when his mind strayed on his nightmare. That just made shivers almost as harsh as his coughing wrack though his body.

The one time that he could bear to glance at his staff (which was currently blending in with Hiccup's wooden floor, as it was merely laying there), his heart spluttered, stopped, and restarted: his magic had drained out of it, so instead of looking like a deadly weapon that could cause an avalanche or summon a blizzard, it looked like something a small child would use as a sparring sword. In other words, without the power of Jack Frost flowing through the bark, it was just plain degrading to associate himself with it.

"Jack, LOOK OUT!"

Jack barely had time to prepare for whatever was coming at him, but the warning came too late.

The torrent of freezing water hit him with the force of several large bricks, and Jack let out a yell as he tumbled out of the window. At the same time, he felt a sharp burst of energy (most likely the coldness of the water) travel though him, and he had just enough time to call for the wind. It came to his aid as it always did, but because it's friend was so weak, could only catch him and then set him down on the ground gently.

Jack shook his head to regain his bearings, and saw Hiccup running up to him babbling like a mad person.

"Oh, gods, are you alright? I'm so sorry, I didn't think the bucket was going to be that heavy and I just sort of let the water go and gods are you alright did you land ok how's your head should I go get a doctor-" Hiccup talked speedily as he hauled Jack to his feet. The Guardian could take some of his own weight now, and ran a hand through his hair to get the water droplets out of it.

For the first time that morning, Jack grinned widely and said semi-normally. "I'm fine, Hic, you gave me the energy boost that I needed." Jack chuckled at Hiccup's blushing face. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Hiccup's voice was tiny and small, but pleased. Jack thought he sounded cute.

Jack blinked, rearing in his senses. He could feel the power waking up in his blood, flowing through his veins like an iceberg on the ocean. He felt stronger, but he knew that he wasn't strong enough. Hiccup had bought him time, but not a lot of time.

The winter spirit didn't like it, but he had to say it.

"Hiccup..." Jack eyed his friend's metal foot with worry. "If I'm going to stay here...I'm going to have to make it snow. A lot."

Hiccup mustered up a smile. "I guess winter is finally going to arrive, eh?"

As Hiccup called Toothless to help him lead Jack up one of the many mountains of Berk, the wind stayed a little longer than was strictly nessicary. It blew through the house, taking a general sweep of the interior incase Jack fell out of any more windows. Helpfully, it picked up the Guardians' staff, and returned it to his hands.

"Thanks, wind." Jack said, nodding at nothing in particular.

The wind caressed his pale cheek, before departing until it was needed.

No one, not even the wind, had seen the black sand that dusted the floor where the winter spirit had slept.

No one had noticed that same sand gathered around Hiccup's pillow, either.


End file.
